Yale Student Dies in Chemistry-Lab Accident

A Yale University senior lauded as an ardent champion of women in science was killed in an accident in a campus lab, university officials said Wednesday.

Michele Dufault, 22 years old and weeks from graduating, died after her hair became tangled in a lathe at Sterling Chemistry Lab, the university said in a statement. Police were notified at 2:36 a.m. after a group of students discovered Ms. Dufault, said New Haven Police Department spokesman Joseph Avery.

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Michele Dufault
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Before the accident, the school required undergraduates to complete one safety class before gaining access to the laboratory's machines, which were then available to them around the clock, multiple students said. A friend of Ms. Dufault, Joseph O'Rourke, said she had completed one machine-safety class and was taking a second one. A university spokesman didn't return calls for comment.

Machine use will now be restricted to specific hours with monitors present until a review of safety policies is complete, Yale President Richard Levin said in a statement.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Yale University Police are conducting investigations.

A.J. Riggs, a senior majoring in physics and mechanical engineering, had worked with Ms. Dufault on her project. He said students often visit the lab late at night, when it is less crowded.

The lathe is a circular vise that can hold a drill bit or a blade and rotates at a high rate of speed, Mr. Riggs said.

Across campus, Ms. Dufault, who was majoring in astronomy and physics, was remembered as a passionate promoter of women in sciences, helping to organize a Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Yale in 2010 and collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to stage a similar conference this January.

"She creates a sense of community that is often difficult to find in a group so poorly represented as women in physics," said Edmund Bertschinger, the head of the physics department at MIT. He recalled seeing her face "cheerfully" popping up on computer screens during Skype calls leading up to the conference. She offered advice on panelists and urged the organizers to carve out space for more interactions between the speakers and students. "She was absolutely right," he said. "She was very supportive, encouraging, wise and gave us a sense of mission. She was a leader."

Yale junior Daksha Rajagopalan remembered Ms. Dufault reaching out in 2008 after they shared a physics class with only three women. Though Ms. Rajagopalan had fantasized about becoming a physicist since childhood, she said she was on the verge of quitting when Ms. Dufault approached her.

At Ms. Dufault's invitation, Ms. Rajagopalan attended a conference on women in physics and found it revelatory. "Honestly, she's most likely the reason I'm still a physics major," she said.

Ms. Dufault also encouraged Ms. Rajagopalan to pursue interests beyond physics, such as geology and climate. Ms. Rajagopalan, now a 20-year-old junior, decided to double major in physics and environmental studies.

The Yale laboratory was closed for the day and classes were canceled. Students sought out each other to mourn and share memories of a woman friends recalled as curious about exploring the world and committed to welcoming others to a sometimes-intimidating field. Mr. O'Rourke recalled first meeting Ms. Dufault as they sat on a bus heading to practice for the Yale Precision Marching Band in 2008. She overheard him mention an interest in astronomy and physics and leaned over to flash him a smile. "That's the way she was with everyone," said Mr. O'Rourke, a 20-year old junior.

Ms. Dufault, a cycling enthusiast from Scituate, Mass., played tenor saxophone in the band and went on to lead the section her junior year. She also joined Mr. O'Rourke as a member of the Yale Drop Team, which works with NASA to provide students with the opportunity to experience near-zero gravity.

But this year she withdrew from the club to focus on her senior project, involving dark matter, he said. "She's been working really hard on it for the entire year because she cares really deeply about it," he said. "Like everything else she was doing."

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